Homily for 4th Sunday After easter 2023: We often see only one set of footprints

Homily for Vocations Sunday - 4th Sunday After Easter – 30th April 2023

Over the last couple of weeks, I have talked about my own journey and how often we do not realise that when we see only one set of footprints, it is Jesus who is carrying us and supporting us. Again, if I reflect on my own journey there were times when I considered what path to take. As a family, we moved around quite a bit. My heart was always on being a filmmaker.

I remember, in secondary school, I was fascinated by the physics of light and sound when studying this subject in science. I loved stories, especially when watching Saturday afternoon films, usually in black and white. I also remember at Easter all the films about Jesus. Although I had been an altar server, it never struck me to ask Fr Davies how he became a priest.

The school did not share such ideas in career development. My English teacher warned me to be careful of getting too involved with occultic things. So, although Jesus was very much an influence on my life, the Devil still had ways to throw snares in my way.

As Jesus said a thief and a brigand were attempting to get into my psyche in some other way, trying to reach into my heart to take me somewhere else. Like the sheep in the Gospel, I continued to hear Jesus’s voice and would follow him, whether consciously or unconsciously. The stranger would never be heeded. My career led me into television, but I moved out of the mainstream into a more Christian-based setting.

I became a teacher of media production, which allowed me to look at how people were represented in all walks of life, including religion and faith. This in term, inspired many conversations where I learnt more from my students, whether in a college of further education or university. The Holy Spirit always led the conversation. I heard the shepherds call and engaged. We all, at times, find ourselves going astray, blinded by the influences of this world, through television, film, computer games and now social media.

Each of these areas has a major impact on our lives, which is why advertising has a strong pull on our behaviour. It is often only when we feel overwhelmed and call out for help that we can hear our shepherd calling us to bring us back into the fold, to be the guardian of our souls. When we realise that the only way is with Jesus, then Psalm 23 becomes more meaningful. All we need to do is repent, as Peter told the early church.

We must be baptised in Jesus’s name so our sins can be forgiven. For 59 years, the fourth Sunday after Easter has been a day of prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood, encouraging all of us to reflect on how Jesus is asking us to serve his people within our own communities. We are all chosen by God to spread his Gospel, the Good News that we are saved through Jesus’s sacrifice on the Cross, the only single sacrifice that is acceptable to God for all our sins.

This is a gift of Love from God to us. Pope Francis says God’s call to us is a gradual process, to which on our part we are to respond. Vocation, normally associated with work, comes from the notion of a voice calling you to follow your purpose. We each are called to find meaning in our lives, and finding our vocation gives us a sense of direction to head towards. This then should become our mission to discover our own calling.

On the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, Cleopas and his partner listened to the man who had joined them along the way. They did not recognise him until he broke bread with them, then they saw it was Our Lord Jesus Christ and he was gone. Cleopas and his companion knew they had to return to Jerusalem to share their Good News of the Risen Lord.

Many in our world, today call out for a sense of purpose, a sense of direction as they feel lost. Jesus is the way, and the life. He is the shepherd leading the flock to salvation. He is calling to others to follow him and imitate him in serving others. Those who have found material riches often realise they are meaningless. Yet, in helping others we can all grow.

Our church is a community, a body of people. Our job is to call out to others to follow Our Lord. Now is a good time to reflect on how you are being called. For some, it could be to become priests, deacons, or nuns. For others, Jesus may be asking you to learn skills that could help your community. There may be other tasks you are being called to do, for he needs workers in all fields.

The journey to a religious life can take a lifetime. Permanent Deacons can be called from when they reach 35 until 65. But the church needs Priests, for without them who would consecrate the Eucharist, bread and wine to become Christ’s Body and Blood? We may be called internally, or others may come to us, inspired to encourage us to journey towards being Ordained.

Today we pray for all those who are called to respond and seek out their vocation.